Month: January 2018

Welcome to the New Year! We hope 2018 brings with it prosperity, great code, and bug-free applications. With an eye towards getting the year off on the right foot, here is our look at some of the most prevalent software development trends predicted for the upcoming 12 months.

Perhaps the insights within help trigger an idea or two for your own team’s development efforts. Good luck!

A Growing Need for Blockchain Programmers

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin aren’t the only thing built upon the principles of blockchain. Many technology pundits predict the revolutionary disruption of multiple industries over the next few years because of blockchain. In fact, enterprise-level blockchain platforms are now provided by the biggest players in the tech world, including IBM, Microsoft, and Amazon.

Because of this rapid growth, expect the demand for software engineers experienced in blockchain technology to go through the roof. Considering there were only 5,000 programmers in this area as of 2016, this offers a great opportunity for any developer interested in the skill. Expect a robust salary if you are experienced with writing blockchain and cryptocurrency applications.

Information Security continues to dominate the News

News about hacking incidents and other forms of cybercrime fill the news on a daily basis. Companies of all sizes remain interested in hiring software engineers experienced in information security. In the past year, we talked aboutthe emergence of DevSecOps which illustrates the emphasis on cybersecurity throughout the industry.

Jeff Williams, CTO of Contract Security, commented on the need to improve application security. “Major breaches like Equifax and Uber have shone a light on organizations that are not doing nearly enough to secure their software supply chain. Today, every organization has an Equifax problem and it has created room for even more budget towards improving all aspects of application security,” said Williams.

Adoption of AI and Machine Learning

The influx of artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms in applications is predicted to become even more prevalent in 2018. AI allows companies to develop smart software better able to serve customers, find actionable information inside a huge data store, or even drive a car.

Expect companies without AI-enabled apps to find it more difficult to compete with those that do. In fact, one study notes that 75 percent of software development companies will embrace AI in their code by the end of this year.

A Backlash against the DevOps Tool Chain?

With DevOps becoming a standard for software development projects,a backlash was inevitable. While we are looking at 2018 trends in Agile and DevOps next week, some development managers predict some pushback on the methodology’s software tool chain, thus its coverage in this article. Mark Pundsack, head of product at GitLab, comments.

“Developers will begin to demand a more integrated approach to the development process. In 2017, developers voiced frustrations around using multiple tools to complete an entire development life cycle. This frustration will turn to action in 2018 and both developers and enterprises will request an approach that is seamless and effective. As a result, vendors will begin offering integrated toolsets to help developers and enterprises move faster from idea to production,” said Pundsack.

That sounds like better tool integration helps companies properly reach a ROI on their DevOps expenditures. Keep an eye out for those new tools in the coming year.

Thanks for checking out our 2018 Software Development trends. As always, thanks for readingthe Betica Blog!